Computerized systems and methods for large-scale product listing

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are provided for updating product information on a webpage. One method comprises receiving, from a first seller, a first request to list at least one first product for sale on the webpage and receiving, from the first seller, product information associated with the at least one first product for sale. The method further comprises receiving, from the first seller, at least one image associated with the at least one first product for sale and providing the received product information associated with the at least one first product for sale to a workflow system, wherein the workflow system is configured to begin a first workflow to enter the product information into a database and configured to process multiple workflows substantially simultaneously. The first workflow may include listing the at least one first product for sale on the webpage.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to computerized systems andmethods for updating product information on a webpage. In particular,embodiments of the present disclosure relate to inventive andunconventional systems for multiple sellers or vendors to simultaneouslylist and update product information in real-time.

BACKGROUND

Many sellers (hereinafter interchangeable with “vendors”) list theirproducts for sale online for consumers to purchase. In order to list newproducts and update product information (e.g., product identifier,seller/vendor identifier, pricing information, shipping information,quantity/inventory information, or product image) for products that arealready listed, sellers may use a system that connects to the webpage onwhich their products may be listed for sale.

The existing systems and methods for listing new products and updatingexisting product information, however, are insufficient. They require asynching process to list new products and update existing productinformation. Because the existing methods require sellers to wait forthe completion of a synching process before their updates areimplemented, the existing methods are difficult to scale up for anincreasing number of sellers and products. Furthermore, the existingmethods cannot handle a large number of sellers simultaneouslyattempting to list or update more than one product.

Therefore, there is a need for improved methods and systems for reducingthe time needed for updating product information of a large amount ofsellers or products on a webpage in real-time.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a system forupdating product information on a webpage. The system may comprise amemory storing instructions and at least one non-transitory storagemedium comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least oneprocessor, cause the at least one processor to perform steps. The stepsmay comprise receiving, from a first seller, a first request to list atleast one first product for sale on the webpage; receiving, from thefirst seller, product information associated with the at least one firstproduct for sale; and receiving, from the first seller, at least oneimage associated with the at least one first product for sale. The stepsmay further comprise providing the received product informationassociated with the at least one first product for sale to a workflowsystem, wherein the workflow system is configured to begin a firstworkflow to enter the product information into a database and configuredto process multiple workflows substantially simultaneously, wherein thefirst workflow comprises associating metadata with the at least onefirst product for sale based on the product information associated withthe at least one first product for sale. The steps may further comprisevalidating the received product information associated with the at leastone first product for sale based on the associated metadata; storing thevalidated product information associated with the at least one firstproduct for sale in the database; listing the at least one first productfor sale on the webpage; and sending a notification of the listingassociated with the at least one first product for sale to the firstseller.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a method forupdating product information on a webpage. The method may comprisereceiving, from a first seller, a first request to list at least onefirst product for sale on the webpage; receiving, from the first seller,product information associated with the at least one first product forsale; and receiving, from the first seller, at least one imageassociated with the at least one first product for sale. The method mayfurther comprise providing the received product information associatedwith the at least one first product for sale to a workflow system,wherein the workflow system is configured to begin a first workflow toenter the product information into a database and configured to processmultiple workflows substantially simultaneously, wherein the firstworkflow comprises associating metadata with the at least one firstproduct for sale based on the product information associated with the atleast one first product for sale. The method may further comprisevalidating the received product information associated with the at leastone first product for sale based on the associated metadata; storing thevalidated product information associated with the at least one firstproduct for sale in the database; listing the at least one first productfor sale on the webpage; and sending a notification of the listingassociated with the at least one first product for sale to the firstseller.

Yet another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a system forupdating product information on a webpage. The system may comprise amemory storing instructions and at least one non-transitory storagemedium comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least oneprocessor, cause the at least one processor to perform steps. The stepsmay comprise receiving, from a first seller, a first request to list atleast one first product for sale on the webpage; and receiving, from thefirst seller, product information associated with the at least one firstproduct for sale; receiving, from the first seller, at least one imageassociated with the at least one first product for sale. The steps mayfurther comprise providing the received product information associatedwith the at least one first product for sale to a workflow system,wherein the workflow system is configured to begin a first workflow toenter the product information into a database and configured to processmultiple workflows substantially simultaneously, wherein the firstworkflow comprises associating metadata with the at least one firstproduct for sale based on the product information associated with the atleast one first product for sale. The steps may further comprisevalidating the received product information associated with the at leastone first product for sale based on the associated metadata; storing thevalidated product information associated with the at least one firstproduct for sale in the database; storing a timestamp for each performedstep of the workflow system; if a performed step fails, storing a reasonfor the failed step and sending a message indicating the reason for thefailed step to the seller; listing the at least one first product forsale on the webpage; and sending a notification of the listingassociated with the at least one first product for sale to the firstseller.

Other systems, methods, and computer-readable media are also discussedherein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a schematic block diagram illustrating an exemplaryembodiment of a network comprising computerized systems forcommunications enabling shipping, transportation, and logisticsoperations, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1B depicts a sample Search Result Page (SRP) that includes one ormore search results satisfying a search request along with interactiveuser interface elements, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1C depicts a sample Single Display Page (SDP) that includes aproduct and information about the product along with interactive userinterface elements, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1D depicts a sample Cart page that includes items in a virtualshopping cart along with interactive user interface elements, consistentwith the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1E depicts a sample Order page that includes items from the virtualshopping cart along with information regarding purchase and shipping,along with interactive user interface elements, consistent with thedisclosed embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of an exemplary fulfillment centerconfigured to utilize disclosed computerized systems, consistent withthe disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary network of devices and systems for updatingproduct information on a webpage, consistent with the disclosedembodiments.

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary process for updating product information ona webpage, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawingsand the following description to refer to the same or similar parts.While several illustrative embodiments are described herein,modifications, adaptations and other implementations are possible. Forexample, substitutions, additions, or modifications may be made to thecomponents and steps illustrated in the drawings, and the illustrativemethods described herein may be modified by substituting, reordering,removing, or adding steps to the disclosed methods. Accordingly, thefollowing detailed description is not limited to the disclosedembodiments and examples. Instead, the proper scope of the invention isdefined by the appended claims.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to systems andmethods configured for updating product information on a webpage. Thedisclosed embodiments are advantageously capable of listing new productsand updating the product information of existing products of multiplesellers or vendors to simultaneously list and update product informationin real-time. Product information may include a product identifier,store/vendor identifier, pricing information, shipping information,quantity/inventory information, or product image.

In one implementation, a first seller may use a seller device to send arequest for listing at least one product for sale on a webpage to aseller listing system. After sending the request to the seller listingsystem, the first seller may send product information (e.g., productidentifier, seller/vendor identifier, pricing information, shippinginformation, quantity/inventory information, or product image)associated with at least one product for sale to the seller listingsystem. Upon receiving the product information from the first seller,the seller listing system may use a metadata checker to associatemetadata (e.g., category of product) with the at least one product forsale. Upon associating metadata with the at least one product for sale,the seller listing system may use a business validator to validate thatthe received product information is in accordance with the businessmodel associated with the metadata. The seller listing system may thenstore the validated product information in a database, list the at leastone product for sale on the webpage, and send a notification of thelisting to the first seller.

In some embodiments, more than one seller may simultaneously use sellerdevices to send multiple requests for listing at least one product forsale on the webpage to the seller listing system. The sellers may usedifferent methods for sending product information to the seller listingsystem. For example, the first seller may use an Application ProgrammingInterface (API) to submit product information to the seller listingsystem, a second seller may directly submit product information to theseller listing system, while a third seller may upload a spreadsheetincluding product information for at least one product to the sellerlisting system. Accordingly, the seller listing system may,simultaneously for the first, second, and third sellers, use themetadata checker to associate metadata with all of the products forsale, the business validator to validate that the received productinformation is in accordance with the respective business modelsassociated with the metadata, store the validated product information inthe database, list all of the products for sale on the webpage, and sendnotifications of the listing to the first, second, and third sellers.

In some other embodiments, the seller listing system may use a globalconfiguration system for connecting services in runtime mode, adistributed tracing system to gather timing data and troubleshootlatency issues, and a tiered quality of service (QoS) for prioritizingsellers. For example, the seller listing system may use the submittedproduct information to determine that the product information of a thirdseller should be validated before the product information of a firstseller is validated.

Referring to FIG. 1A, a schematic block diagram 100 illustrating anexemplary embodiment of a system comprising computerized systems forcommunications enabling shipping, transportation, and logisticsoperations is shown. As illustrated in FIG. 1A, system 100 may include avariety of systems, each of which may be connected to one another viaone or more networks. The systems may also be connected to one anothervia a direct connection, for example, using a cable. The depictedsystems include a shipment authority technology (SAT) system 101, anexternal front end system 103, an internal front end system 105, atransportation system 107, mobile devices 107A, 107B, and 107C, sellerportal 109, shipment and order tracking (SOT) system 111, fulfillmentoptimization (FO) system 113, fulfillment messaging gateway (FMG) 115,supply chain management (SCM) system 117, warehouse management system119, mobile devices 119A, 119B, and 119C (depicted as being inside offulfillment center (FC) 200), 3^(rd) party fulfillment systems 121A,121B, and 121C, fulfillment center authorization system (FC Auth) 123,and labor management system (LMS) 125.

SAT system 101, in some embodiments, may be implemented as a computersystem that monitors order status and delivery status. For example, SATsystem 101 may determine whether an order is past its Promised DeliveryDate (PDD) and may take appropriate action, including initiating a neworder, reshipping the items in the non-delivered order, canceling thenon-delivered order, initiating contact with the ordering customer, orthe like. SAT system 101 may also monitor other data, including output(such as a number of packages shipped during a particular time period)and input (such as the number of empty cardboard boxes received for usein shipping). SAT system 101 may also act as a gateway between differentdevices in system 100, enabling communication (e.g., usingstore-and-forward or other techniques) between devices such as externalfront end system 103 and FO system 113.

External front end system 103, in some embodiments, may be implementedas a computer system that enables external users to interact with one ormore systems in system 100. For example, in embodiments where system 100enables the presentation of systems to enable users to place an orderfor an item, external front end system 103 may be implemented as a webserver that receives search requests, presents item pages, and solicitspayment information. For example, external front end system 103 may beimplemented as a computer or computers running software such as theApache HTTP Server, Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS),NGINX, or the like. In other embodiments, external front end system 103may run custom web server software designed to receive and processrequests from external devices (e.g., mobile device 102A or computer102B), acquire information from databases and other data stores based onthose requests, and provide responses to the received requests based onacquired information.

In some embodiments, external front end system 103 may include one ormore of a web caching system, a database, a search system, or a paymentsystem. In one aspect, external front end system 103 may comprise one ormore of these systems, while in another aspect, external front endsystem 103 may comprise interfaces (e.g., server-to-server,database-to-database, or other network connections) connected to one ormore of these systems.

An illustrative set of steps, illustrated by FIGS. 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E,will help to describe some operations of external front end system 103.External front end system 103 may receive information from systems ordevices in system 100 for presentation and/or display. For example,external front end system 103 may host or provide one or more web pages,including a Search Result Page (SRP) (e.g., FIG. 1B), a Single DetailPage (SDP) (e.g., FIG. 1C), a Cart page (e.g., FIG. 1D), or an Orderpage (e.g., FIG. 1E). A user device (e.g., using mobile device 102A orcomputer 102B) may navigate to external front end system 103 and requesta search by entering information into a search box. External front endsystem 103 may request information from one or more systems in system100. For example, external front end system 103 may request informationfrom FO System 113 that satisfies the search request. External front endsystem 103 may also request and receive (from FO System 113) a PromisedDelivery Date or “PDD” for each product included in the search results.The PDD, in some embodiments, may represent an estimate of when apackage containing the product will arrive at the user's desiredlocation or a date by which the product is promised to be delivered atthe user's desired location if ordered within a particular period oftime, for example, by the end of the day (11:59 PM). (PDD is discussedfurther below with respect to FO System 113.)

External front end system 103 may prepare an SRP (e.g., FIG. 1B) basedon the information. The SRP may include information that satisfies thesearch request. For example, this may include pictures of products thatsatisfy the search request. The SRP may also include respective pricesfor each product, or information relating to enhanced delivery optionsfor each product, PDD, weight, size, offers, discounts, or the like.External front end system 103 may send the SRP to the requesting userdevice (e.g., via a network).

A user device may then select a product from the SRP, e.g., by clickingor tapping a user interface, or using another input device, to select aproduct represented on the SRP. The user device may formulate a requestfor information on the selected product and send it to external frontend system 103. In response, external front end system 103 may requestinformation related to the selected product. For example, theinformation may include additional information beyond that presented fora product on the respective SRP. This could include, for example, shelflife, country of origin, weight, size, number of items in package,handling instructions, or other information about the product. Theinformation could also include recommendations for similar products(based on, for example, big data and/or machine learning analysis ofcustomers who bought this product and at least one other product),answers to frequently asked questions, reviews from customers,manufacturer information, pictures, or the like.

External front end system 103 may prepare an SDP (Single Detail Page)(e.g., FIG. 1C) based on the received product information. The SDP mayalso include other interactive elements such as a “Buy Now” button, a“Add to Cart” button, a quantity field , a picture of the item, or thelike. The SDP may further include a list of sellers that offer theproduct. The list may be ordered based on the price each seller offerssuch that the seller that offers to sell the product at the lowest pricemay be listed at the top. The list may also be ordered based on theseller ranking such that the highest ranked seller may be listed at thetop. The seller ranking may be formulated based on multiple factors,including, for example, the seller's past track record of meeting apromised PDD. External front end system 103 may deliver the SDP to therequesting user device (e.g., via a network).

The requesting user device may receive the SDP which lists the productinformation. Upon receiving the SDP, the user device may then interactwith the SDP. For example, a user of the requesting user device mayclick or otherwise interact with a “Place in Cart” button on the SDP.This adds the product to a shopping cart associated with the user. Theuser device may transmit this request to add the product to the shoppingcart to external front end system 103.

External front end system 103 may generate a Cart page (e.g., FIG. 1D).The Cart page, in some embodiments, lists the products that the user hasadded to a virtual “shopping cart.” A user device may request the Cartpage by clicking on or otherwise interacting with an icon on the SRP,SDP, or other pages. The Cart page may, in some embodiments, list allproducts that the user has added to the shopping cart, as well asinformation about the products in the cart such as a quantity of eachproduct, a price for each product per item, a price for each productbased on an associated quantity, information regarding PDD, a deliverymethod, a shipping cost, user interface elements for modifying theproducts in the shopping cart (e.g., deletion or modification of aquantity), options for ordering other product or setting up periodicdelivery of products, options for setting up interest payments, userinterface elements for proceeding to purchase, or the like. A user at auser device may click on or otherwise interact with a user interfaceelement (e.g., a button that reads “Buy Now”) to initiate the purchaseof the product in the shopping cart. Upon doing so, the user device maytransmit this request to initiate the purchase to external front endsystem 103.

External front end system 103 may generate an Order page (e.g., FIG. 1E)in response to receiving the request to initiate a purchase. The Orderpage, in some embodiments, re-lists the items from the shopping cart andrequests input of payment and shipping information. For example, theOrder page may include a section requesting information about thepurchaser of the items in the shopping cart (e.g., name, address, e-mailaddress, phone number), information about the recipient (e.g., name,address, phone number, delivery information), shipping information(e.g., speed/method of delivery and/or pickup), payment information(e.g., credit card, bank transfer, check, stored credit), user interfaceelements to request a cash receipt (e.g., for tax purposes), or thelike. External front end system 103 may send the Order page to the userdevice.

The user device may enter information on the Order page and click orotherwise interact with a user interface element that sends theinformation to external front end system 103. From there, external frontend system 103 may send the information to different systems in system100 to enable the creation and processing of a new order with theproducts in the shopping cart.

In some embodiments, external front end system 103 may be furtherconfigured to enable sellers to transmit and receive informationrelating to orders.

Internal front end system 105, in some embodiments, may be implementedas a computer system that enables internal users (e.g., employees of anorganization that owns, operates, or leases system 100) to interact withone or more systems in system 100. For example, in embodiments wheresystem 100 enables the presentation of systems to enable users to placean order for an item, internal front end system 105 may be implementedas a web server that enables internal users to view diagnostic andstatistical information about orders, modify item information, or reviewstatistics relating to orders. For example, internal front end system105 may be implemented as a computer or computers running software suchas the Apache HTTP Server, Microsoft Internet Information Services(IIS), NGINX, or the like. In other embodiments, internal front endsystem 105 may run custom web server software designed to receive andprocess requests from systems or devices depicted in system 100 (as wellas other devices not depicted), acquire information from databases andother data stores based on those requests, and provide responses to thereceived requests based on acquired information.

In some embodiments, internal front end system 105 may include one ormore of a web caching system, a database, a search system, a paymentsystem, an analytics system, an order monitoring system, or the like. Inone aspect, internal front end system 105 may comprise one or more ofthese systems, while in another aspect, internal front end system 105may comprise interfaces (e.g., server-to-server, database-to-database,or other network connections) connected to one or more of these systems.

Transportation system 107, in some embodiments, may be implemented as acomputer system that enables communication between systems or devices insystem 100 and mobile devices 107A-107C. Transportation system 107, insome embodiments, may receive information from one or more mobiledevices 107A-107C (e.g., mobile phones, smart phones, PDAs, or thelike). For example, in some embodiments, mobile devices 107A-107C maycomprise devices operated by delivery workers. The delivery workers, whomay be permanent, temporary, or shift employees, may utilize mobiledevices 107A-107C to effect delivery of packages containing the productsordered by users. For example, to deliver a package, the delivery workermay receive a notification on a mobile device indicating which packageto deliver and where to deliver it. Upon arriving at the deliverylocation, the delivery worker may locate the package (e.g., in the backof a truck or in a crate of packages), scan or otherwise capture dataassociated with an identifier on the package (e.g., a barcode, an image,a text string, an RFID tag, or the like) using the mobile device, anddeliver the package (e.g., by leaving it at a front door, leaving itwith a security guard, handing it to the recipient, or the like). Insome embodiments, the delivery worker may capture photo(s) of thepackage and/or may obtain a signature using the mobile device. Themobile device may send information to transportation system 107including information about the delivery, including, for example, time,date, GPS location, photo(s), an identifier associated with the deliveryworker, an identifier associated with the mobile device, or the like.Transportation system 107 may store this information in a database (notpictured) for access by other systems in system 100. Transportationsystem 107 may, in some embodiments, use this information to prepare andsend tracking data to other systems indicating the location of aparticular package.

In some embodiments, certain users may use one kind of mobile device(e.g., permanent workers may use a specialized PDA with custom hardwaresuch as a barcode scanner, stylus, and other devices) while other usersmay use other kinds of mobile devices (e.g., temporary or shift workersmay utilize off-the-shelf mobile phones and/or smartphones).

In some embodiments, transportation system 107 may associate a user witheach device. For example, transportation system 107 may store anassociation between a user (represented by, e.g., a user identifier, anemployee identifier, or a phone number) and a mobile device (representedby, e.g., an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), anInternational Mobile Subscription Identifier (IMSI), a phone number, aUniversal Unique Identifier (UUID), or a Globally Unique Identifier(GUID)). Transportation system 107 may use this association inconjunction with data received on deliveries to analyze data stored inthe database in order to determine, among other things, a location ofthe worker, an efficiency of the worker, or a speed of the worker.

Seller portal 109, in some embodiments, may be implemented as a computersystem that enables sellers or other external entities to electronicallycommunicate with one or more systems in system 100. For example, aseller may utilize a computer system (not pictured) to upload or provideproduct information, order information, contact information, or thelike, for products that the seller wishes to sell through system 100using seller portal 109.

Shipment and order tracking system 111, in some embodiments, may beimplemented as a computer system that receives, stores, and forwardsinformation regarding the location of packages containing productsordered by customers (e.g., by a user using devices 102A-102B). In someembodiments, shipment and order tracking system 111 may request or storeinformation from web servers (not pictured) operated by shippingcompanies that deliver packages containing products ordered bycustomers.

In some embodiments, shipment and order tracking system 111 may requestand store information from systems depicted in system 100. For example,shipment and order tracking system 111 may request information fromtransportation system 107. As discussed above, transportation system 107may receive information from one or more mobile devices 107A-107C (e.g.,mobile phones, smart phones, PDAs, or the like) that are associated withone or more of a user (e.g., a delivery worker) or a vehicle (e.g., adelivery truck). In some embodiments, shipment and order tracking system111 may also request information from warehouse management system (WMS)119 to determine the location of individual products inside of afulfillment center (e.g., fulfillment center 200). Shipment and ordertracking system 111 may request data from one or more of transportationsystem 107 or WMS 119, process it, and present it to a device (e.g.,user devices 102A and 102B) upon request.

Fulfillment optimization (FO) system 113, in some embodiments, may beimplemented as a computer system that stores information for customerorders from other systems (e.g., external front end system 103 and/orshipment and order tracking system 111). FO system 113 may also storeinformation describing where particular items are held or stored. Forexample, certain items may be stored only in one fulfillment center,while certain other items may be stored in multiple fulfillment centers.In still other embodiments, certain fulfilment centers may be designedto store only a particular set of items (e.g., fresh produce or frozenproducts). FO system 113 stores this information as well as associatedinformation (e.g., quantity, size, date of receipt, expiration date,etc.).

FO system 113 may also calculate a corresponding PDD (promised deliverydate) for each product. The PDD, in some embodiments, may be based onone or more factors. For example, FO system 113 may calculate a PDD fora product based on a past demand for a product (e.g., how many timesthat product was ordered during a period of time), an expected demandfor a product (e.g., how many customers are forecast to order theproduct during an upcoming period of time), a network-wide past demandindicating how many products were ordered during a period of time, anetwork-wide expected demand indicating how many products are expectedto be ordered during an upcoming period of time, one or more counts ofthe product stored in each fulfillment center 200, which fulfillmentcenter stores each product, expected or current orders for that product,or the like.

In some embodiments, FO system 113 may determine a PDD for each producton a periodic basis (e.g., hourly) and store it in a database forretrieval or sending to other systems (e.g., external front end system103, SAT system 101, shipment and order tracking system 111). In otherembodiments, FO system 113 may receive electronic requests from one ormore systems (e.g., external front end system 103, SAT system 101,shipment and order tracking system 111) and calculate the PDD on demand.

Fulfilment messaging gateway (FMG) 115, in some embodiments, may beimplemented as a computer system that receives a request or response inone format or protocol from one or more systems in system 100, such asFO system 113, converts it to another format or protocol, and forward itin the converted format or protocol to other systems, such as WMS 119 or3rd party fulfillment systems 121A, 121B, or 121C, and vice versa.

Supply chain management (SCM) system 117, in some embodiments, may beimplemented as a computer system that performs forecasting functions.For example, SCM system 117 may forecast a level of demand for aparticular product based on, for example, based on a past demand forproducts, an expected demand for a product, a network-wide past demand,a network-wide expected demand, a count products stored in eachfulfillment center 200, expected or current orders for each product, orthe like. In response to this forecasted level and the amount of eachproduct across all fulfillment centers, SCM system 117 may generate oneor more purchase orders to purchase and stock a sufficient quantity tosatisfy the forecasted demand for a particular product.

Warehouse management system (WMS) 119, in some embodiments, may beimplemented as a computer system that monitors workflow. For example,WMS 119 may receive event data from individual devices (e.g., devices107A-107C or 119A-119C) indicating discrete events. For example, WMS 119may receive event data indicating the use of one of these devices toscan a package. As discussed below with respect to fulfillment center200 and FIG. 2, during the fulfillment process, a package identifier(e.g., a barcode or RFID tag data) may be scanned or read by machines atparticular stages (e.g., automated or handheld barcode scanners, RFIDreaders, high-speed cameras, devices such as tablet 119A, mobiledevice/PDA 119B, computer 119C, or the like). WMS 119 may store eachevent indicating a scan or a read of a package identifier in acorresponding database (not pictured) along with the package identifier,a time, date, location, user identifier, or other information, and mayprovide this information to other systems (e.g., shipment and ordertracking system 111).

WMS 119, in some embodiments, may store information associating one ormore devices (e.g., devices 107A-107C or 119A-119C) with one or moreusers associated with system 100. For example, in some situations, auser (such as a part- or full-time employee) may be associated with amobile device in that the user owns the mobile device (e.g., the mobiledevice is a smartphone). In other situations, a user may be associatedwith a mobile device in that the user is temporarily in custody of themobile device (e.g., the user checked the mobile device out at the startof the day, will use it during the day, and will return it at the end ofthe day).

WMS 119, in some embodiments, may maintain a work log for each userassociated with system 100. For example, WMS 119 may store informationassociated with each employee, including any assigned processes (e.g.,unloading trucks, picking items from a pick zone, rebin wall work,packing items), a user identifier, a location (e.g., a floor or zone ina fulfillment center 200), a number of units moved through the system bythe employee (e.g., number of items picked, number of items packed), anidentifier associated with a device (e.g., devices 119A-119C), or thelike. In some embodiments, WMS 119 may receive check-in and check-outinformation from a timekeeping system, such as a timekeeping systemoperated on a device 119A-119C.

3^(rd) party fulfillment (3PL) systems 121A-121C, in some embodiments,represent computer systems associated with third-party providers oflogistics and products. For example, while some products are stored infulfillment center 200 (as discussed below with respect to FIG. 2),other products may be stored off-site, may be produced on demand, or maybe otherwise unavailable for storage in fulfillment center 200. 3PLsystems 121A-121C may be configured to receive orders from FO system 113(e.g., through FMG 115) and may provide products and/or services (e.g.,delivery or installation) to customers directly. In some embodiments,one or more of 3PL systems 121A-121C may be part of system 100, while inother embodiments, one or more of 3PL systems 121A-121C may be outsideof system 100 (e.g., owned or operated by a third-party provider).

Fulfillment Center Auth system (FC Auth) 123, in some embodiments, maybe implemented as a computer system with a variety of functions. Forexample, in some embodiments, FC Auth 123 may act as a single-sign on(SSO) service for one or more other systems in system 100. For example,FC Auth 123 may enable a user to log in via internal front end system105, determine that the user has similar privileges to access resourcesat shipment and order tracking system 111, and enable the user to accessthose privileges without requiring a second log in process. FC Auth 123,in other embodiments, may enable users (e.g., employees) to associatethemselves with a particular task. For example, some employees may nothave an electronic device (such as devices 119A-119C) and may insteadmove from task to task, and zone to zone, within a fulfillment center200, during the course of a day. FC Auth 123 may be configured to enablethose employees to indicate what task they are performing and what zonethey are in at different times of day.

Labor management system (LMS) 125, in some embodiments, may beimplemented as a computer system that stores attendance and overtimeinformation for employees (including full-time and part-time employees).For example, LMS 125 may receive information from FC Auth 123, WMS 119,devices 119A-119C, transportation system 107, and/or devices 107A-107C.

The particular configuration depicted in FIG. 1A is an example only. Forexample, while FIG. 1A depicts FC Auth system 123 connected to FO system113, not all embodiments require this particular configuration. Indeed,in some embodiments, the systems in system 100 may be connected to oneanother through one or more public or private networks, including theInternet, an Intranet, a WAN (Wide-Area Network), a MAN(Metropolitan-Area Network), a wireless network compliant with the IEEE802.11a/b/g/n Standards, a leased line, or the like. In someembodiments, one or more of the systems in system 100 may be implementedas one or more virtual servers implemented at a data center, serverfarm, or the like.

FIG. 2 depicts a fulfillment center 200. Fulfillment center 200 is anexample of a physical location that stores items for shipping tocustomers when ordered. Fulfillment center (FC) 200 may be divided intomultiple zones, each of which are depicted in FIG. 2. These “zones,” insome embodiments, may be thought of as virtual divisions betweendifferent stages of a process of receiving items, storing the items,retrieving the items, and shipping the items. So while the “zones” aredepicted in FIG. 2, other divisions of zones are possible, and the zonesin FIG. 2 may be omitted, duplicated, or modified in some embodiments.

Inbound zone 203 represents an area of FC 200 where items are receivedfrom sellers who wish to sell products using system 100 from FIG. 1A.For example, a seller may deliver items 202A and 202B using truck 201.Item 202A may represent a single item large enough to occupy its ownshipping pallet, while item 202B may represent a set of items that arestacked together on the same pallet to save space.

A worker will receive the items in inbound zone 203 and may optionallycheck the items for damage and correctness using a computer system (notpictured). For example, the worker may use a computer system to comparethe quantity of items 202A and 202B to an ordered quantity of items. Ifthe quantity does not match, that worker may refuse one or more of items202A or 202B. If the quantity does match, the worker may move thoseitems (using, e.g., a dolly, a handtruck, a forklift, or manually) tobuffer zone 205. Buffer zone 205 may be a temporary storage area foritems that are not currently needed in the picking zone, for example,because there is a high enough quantity of that item in the picking zoneto satisfy forecasted demand. In some embodiments, forklifts 206 operateto move items around buffer zone 205 and between inbound zone 203 anddrop zone 207. If there is a need for items 202A or 202B in the pickingzone (e.g., because of forecasted demand), a forklift may move items202A or 202B to drop zone 207.

Drop zone 207 may be an area of FC 200 that stores items before they aremoved to picking zone 209. A worker assigned to the picking task (a“picker”) may approach items 202A and 202B in the picking zone, scan abarcode for the picking zone, and scan barcodes associated with items202A and 202B using a mobile device (e.g., device 119B). The picker maythen take the item to picking zone 209 (e.g., by placing it on a cart orcarrying it).

Picking zone 209 may be an area of FC 200 where items 208 are stored onstorage units 210. In some embodiments, storage units 210 may compriseone or more of physical shelving, bookshelves, boxes, totes,refrigerators, freezers, cold stores, or the like. In some embodiments,picking zone 209 may be organized into multiple floors. In someembodiments, workers or machines may move items into picking zone 209 inmultiple ways, including, for example, a forklift, an elevator, aconveyor belt, a cart, a handtruck, a dolly, an automated robot ordevice, or manually. For example, a picker may place items 202A and 202Bon a handtruck or cart in drop zone 207 and walk items 202A and 202B topicking zone 209.

A picker may receive an instruction to place (or “stow”) the items inparticular spots in picking zone 209, such as a particular space on astorage unit 210. For example, a picker may scan item 202A using amobile device (e.g., device 119B). The device may indicate where thepicker should stow item 202A, for example, using a system that indicatean aisle, shelf, and location. The device may then prompt the picker toscan a barcode at that location before stowing item 202A in thatlocation. The device may send (e.g., via a wireless network) data to acomputer system such as WMS 119 in FIG. 1A indicating that item 202A hasbeen stowed at the location by the user using device 119B.

Once a user places an order, a picker may receive an instruction ondevice 119B to retrieve one or more items 208 from storage unit 210. Thepicker may retrieve item 208, scan a barcode on item 208, and place iton transport mechanism 214. While transport mechanism 214 is representedas a slide, in some embodiments, transport mechanism may be implementedas one or more of a conveyor belt, an elevator, a cart, a forklift, ahandtruck, a dolly, a cart, or the like. Item 208 may then arrive atpacking zone 211.

Packing zone 211 may be an area of FC 200 where items are received frompicking zone 209 and packed into boxes or bags for eventual shipping tocustomers. In packing zone 211, a worker assigned to receiving items (a“rebin worker”) will receive item 208 from picking zone 209 anddetermine what order it corresponds to. For example, the rebin workermay use a device, such as computer 119C, to scan a barcode on item 208.Computer 119C may indicate visually which order item 208 is associatedwith. This may include, for example, a space or “cell” on a wall 216that corresponds to an order. Once the order is complete (e.g., becausethe cell contains all items for the order), the rebin worker mayindicate to a packing worker (or “packer”) that the order is complete.The packer may retrieve the items from the cell and place them in a boxor bag for shipping. The packer may then send the box or bag to a hubzone 213, e.g., via forklift, cart, dolly, handtruck, conveyor belt,manually, or otherwise.

Hub zone 213 may be an area of FC 200 that receives all boxes or bags(“packages”) from packing zone 211. Workers and/or machines in hub zone213 may retrieve package 218 and determine which portion of a deliveryarea each package is intended to go to, and route the package to anappropriate camp zone 215. For example, if the delivery area has twosmaller sub-areas, packages will go to one of two camp zones 215. Insome embodiments, a worker or machine may scan a package (e.g., usingone of devices 119A-119C) to determine its eventual destination. Routingthe package to camp zone 215 may comprise, for example, determining aportion of a geographical area that the package is destined for (e.g.,based on a postal code) and determining a camp zone 215 associated withthe portion of the geographical area.

Camp zone 215, in some embodiments, may comprise one or more buildings,one or more physical spaces, or one or more areas, where packages arereceived from hub zone 213 for sorting into routes and/or sub-routes. Insome embodiments, camp zone 215 is physically separate from FC 200 whilein other embodiments camp zone 215 may form a part of FC 200.

Workers and/or machines in camp zone 215 may determine which routeand/or sub-route a package 220 should be associated with, for example,based on a comparison of the destination to an existing route and/orsub-route, a calculation of workload for each route and/or sub-route,the time of day, a shipping method, the cost to ship the package 220, aPDD associated with the items in package 220, or the like. In someembodiments, a worker or machine may scan a package (e.g., using one ofdevices 119A-119C) to determine its eventual destination. Once package220 is assigned to a particular route and/or sub-route, a worker and/ormachine may move package 220 to be shipped. In exemplary FIG. 2, campzone 215 includes a truck 222, a car 226, and delivery workers 224A and224B. In some embodiments, truck 222 may be driven by delivery worker224A, where delivery worker 224A is a full-time employee that deliverspackages for FC 200 and truck 222 is owned, leased, or operated by thesame company that owns, leases, or operates FC 200. In some embodiments,car 226 may be driven by delivery worker 224B, where delivery worker224B is a “flex” or occasional worker that is delivering on an as-neededbasis (e.g., seasonally). Car 226 may be owned, leased, or operated bydelivery worker 224B.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary network of devices and systems 300 for updatingproduct information on a webpage is shown. As illustrated in FIG. 3,system 300 may include a backbone workflow engine 310 (e.g., NetflixConductor), a read and search service (“read/search service”) 320, and adatabase 330. Backbone workflow engine 310 and read/search service 320may communicate with seller devices 332A, 332B, or 332C or with sellerportal 109 (see, e.g., FIG. 1A) via a network. In some embodiments,backbone workflow engine 310 and read/search service 320 may communicatewith components of system 100 and other systems (including sellerdevices 332A, 332B, 332C) via a direct connection, for example, using acable.

System 300, in some embodiments, may be implemented as a scaled-upcomputer system that may quickly list and update product information ona webpage for multiple sellers simultaneously in real-time (e.g.,writing 25,000 transactions per second, reading throughput of 40,000 persecond, supporting 50 million business flow transactions daily, selectlatency of 2 milliseconds, insert latency of 10 milliseconds, reducingend-to-end lead time of transaction execution to 8 seconds withtransparent traceability, etc.). System 300 and its components maycomprise a single computer or may be configured as a distributedcomputer system including multiple computers that interoperate toperform one or more of the processes and functionalities associated withthe disclosed examples. For example, backbone workflow engine 310 mayrun several processes driven by asynchronous orchestration of tasksexecuting on microservices. The processes may be long-running processesthat are essential to posting product listings on the webpage. Some ofthe processes include managing the ingestion of data (e.g., productinformation) from sellers and managing product listing after validation.System 300 may use Representational State Transfer (REST) API JavaScriptObject Notation (JSON) to define an execution flow (e.g., create,update, make queries, delete, or read operations). Microservices mayinclude a metadata checker 313, an image processor 314, a businessvalidator 315, and seller portal 109.

System 300 may define workflows (e.g., sellers submitting productlistings) using a JSON-based domain-specific language (DSL). A workflowblueprint may define a series of tasks that needs to be executed bysystem 300. Each of the tasks may either be a control task (e.g., fork,join, decision, sub-workflow, etc.) or a worker task. Backbone workflowengine 310 may define tasks which may control a task's behavior. Forexample, a task definition may provide control parameters for each tasksuch as timeouts, retry policies, etc. A task may be a worker taskimplemented by application or a system task executed by a server. Insome embodiments, a task may include verifying that a seller's requestedlisting is correct or complete or listing the seller's product to awebsite.

In some embodiments, a first seller 334A may, via seller device 332A,send a request for listing at least one product for sale on a webpage tosystem 300. After sending the request to system 300, first seller 334Amay send product information (e.g., product identifier, seller/vendoridentifier, pricing information, shipping information,quantity/inventory information, or product image) associated with atleast one product for sale to system 300 via seller device 332A. In someembodiments, seller 334B or seller 334C may, via seller device 332B or332C, simultaneously interact with system 300 in a manner similar tothat of seller 334A as explained above. For example, seller portal 109and system 300 may list new products and update product information ofexisting products of multiple sellers simultaneously onto the webpage inreal-time. Sellers 334A-C may use different methods for sending productinformation to system 300. For example, first seller 334A may use an APIto submit product information to seller listing system 300, a secondseller 334B may directly submit product information to system 300, whilea third seller 334C may upload a spreadsheet including productinformation for at least one product onto the system 300. The APIs ofsystem 300 may be exposed over HTTP to allow for ease of integrationwith different sellers. System 300 may include additional protocols thatprovide features such as authentication, bidirectional flow control,cancellations, timeouts, cross-platform seller and server bindings formany languages, connection between services in microservices, orconnection between user devices.

Seller devices 332A-C may comprise a tablet, mobile device, computer, orthe like. Seller devices 332A-C may include a display. The display mayinclude, for example, liquid crystal displays (LCD), light emittingdiode screens (LED), organic light emitting diode screens (OLED), atouch screen, and other known display devices. The display may showvarious information to a seller. Seller devices 332A-C may include oneor more input/output (I/O) devices. The I/O devices may include one ormore devices that allow seller devices 332A-C to send and receiveinformation from sellers 334A-C or another device. The I/O devices mayinclude various input/output devices, a camera, a microphone, akeyboard, a mouse-type device, a gesture sensor, an action sensor, aphysical button, an oratory input, etc. The I/O devices may also includeone or more communication modules (not shown) for sending and receivinginformation from seller listing system 300 by, for example, establishingwired or wireless connectivity between seller devices 332A-C and network320.

Backbone workflow engine 310 may track and manage workflows (e.g.,sellers submitting product listings) and may further pause, resume, andrestart processes. Backbone workflow engine 310 may use a user interface(UI) to visualize process flows such that a seller may submit a requestto system 300 to receive a notification of where its submitted productinformation is in the product listing process. Backbone workflow engine310 may use the UI to monitor and troubleshoot workflow executions. TheUI may allow for searches based on various parameters (e.g., input,output, etc.) and provide a visual presentation of the workflowblueprint and the paths taken during execution. The UI may providedetails of each task execution for each workflow instance. The detailsmay include timestamps for when a task was scheduled, timestamps forwhen a task was picked up by a worker application, timestamps for when atask was completed, reasons for task failure, number of retry attempts,host on which a task was executed, inputs provided to a task, andoutputs from a task upon completion.

Backbone workflow engine 310 may include a state machine service thatcombines a workflow blueprint with the current state of the workflow,identify the next state, schedule tasks (e.g., associated withprocessing sellers' product listing requests), and update the status ofthe workflow as workflow events (e.g., task completion, failure, etc.)occur. The state machine service may manage scheduled tasks using adistributed queue. In some embodiments, the state machine service mayevaluate the state of a workflow instance against the workflow blueprintand identify the next set of tasks to be scheduled or complete theworkflow if all tasks are complete.

Backbone workflow engine 310 may include stateless worker applications.The worker applications may establish communications between userdevices 332A-C and tasks. The worker applications may establish thesecommunications by either implementing a REST endpoint that can be calledby backbone workflow engine 310 or by implementing a polling loop thatperiodically checks for pending tasks. Backbone workflow engine 310 mayachieve the same outcome when calling the REST endpoint one or moretimes. The polling model may handle backpressure on the workerapplications and provide automatic scalability based on the queue depth.Backbone workflow engine 310 may inspect the workload size for eachworker application that may be used to autoscale worker instances.

In some embodiments, image processor 314 may quickly download a filetransfer protocol (FTP) image uniform resource locator (URL) or a cloudURL associated with the product for sale submitted by first seller 334Aonto the webpage. The quick image download function of image processor314 may reduce latency of first seller 334A's product informationsubmission to system 300.

Upon receiving the product information from first seller 332A, metadatachecker 313 may associate metadata (e.g., category of product) with theat least one product for sale. For example, the metadata may indicatethat the product for sale is an electronic product. Upon associatingmetadata with the at least one product for sale, business validator 315may validate that the received product information is in accordance withthe business model associated with the metadata. For example, if themetadata indicates that the product for sale is an electronic product,the associated business model may indicate that electronic products aresubject to mandatory certification schemes that ensure that onlyelectronic products certified by the mandatory scheme can enter themarket. Business validator 315 may validate the received productinformation by verifying that the associated product is properlycertified. System 300 may store the validated product information indatabase 330, seller portal 109 may list the at least one product forsale on the webpage, and seller listing system 300 may send anotification of the listing to first seller 334A.

Accordingly, system may 300, simultaneously for first, second, and thirdsellers 334A-C, use metadata checker 313 to associate metadata with allof the products for sale, business validator 315 to validate that thereceived product information is in accordance with the respectivebusiness models associated with the metadata, store the validatedproduct information in database 330, list all of the products for saleon the webpage via seller portal 109, and send notifications of thelisting to first, second, and third seller devices 332A-C.

Database 330 may include a storage engine (e.g., Elasticsearch,Cassandra, etc.) for indexing execution flows. Database 330 may includecomputing components (e.g., database management system, database server,etc.) configured to receive and process requests for data stored inmemory devices of the database(s) and to provide data from thedatabase(s). In some embodiments, database 330 may take the form ofservers, general purpose computers, mainframe computers, or anycombination of these components. Database 330 may store data that may beused by system 300 for performing methods and processes associated withdisclosed examples. Database 330 may be located in system 300 as shownin FIG. 3, or alternatively, it may be in an external storage devicelocated outside of system 300. Data stored in database 330 may includeany suitable process information data associated with steps performed byand interactions with system 300. For example, data stored in database330 may include product information (e.g., product identifier,seller/vendor identifier, pricing information, shipping information,quantity/inventory information, or product image) submitted by a seller,processes and paths taken by system 300, task execution data (e.g.,timestamps for when a task was scheduled, whether or not a task failed,reasons for task failure, number of retry attempts on a task, host onwhich a task was executed, inputs provided to a task, outputs from atask upon completion), steps performed by a metadata checker 313, stepsperformed by an image processor 314, or steps performed by a businessvalidator 315.

Database 330 may enable horizontal scaling of datastore for a largevolume of concurrent workflow executions (e.g., millions of workflowsper day) and provide elastic scaling to meet high throughput demands.For example, database 330 may index products by their associated productinformation (e.g., product identifier, seller/vendor identifier, pricinginformation, shipping information, quantity/inventory information, orproduct image). When a seller submits a request to list products tosystem 300, read/search service 320 may search the indexed products indatabase 330 for relevant product information (e.g., has the selleralready listed the product associated with the product). In someembodiments, read/search service 320 may search database 330 for aplurality of requests substantially simultaneously.

Database 330 may include main core components such as nodes, datacenters, memory tables, clusters, commit logs, etc. In some embodiments,a cluster of database 330 may be distributed across different machinesto handle failures and maintain replicas to maintain operations andtransactions with high availability. For example, database 330 may havea replication factor that defines the number of copies of data acrossdifferent machines to receive multiple copies of data to maintain faulttolerance and high availability. Database 330 may store and manage highvelocity structured data and unstructured data across multiple commodityservers. In some embodiments, database 330 may have a decentralizedarchitecture such that any node may perform any operation. All the nodesmay be at the same level, which may provide flexible scalability forlarge amounts of data. Database 330 may add or remove any number ofnodes from a cluster without disturbing the architecture. In someembodiments, database 330 may use a Restful distributed search bysending data using APIs.

In some embodiments, database 330 may use a table (e.g., CQL table) thatmay be considered as a group of partitions called the column family thatcontains rows with the same structure. Each partition may hold a uniquepartition key and each row may contain an optional singular cluster key.The combination of a partition and a cluster key is called a primarykey, which is used to identify a row in the table. A table with acluster key will have multi-row partitions whereas a table without aclustered key will only have single row partition.

Backbone workflow engine 310 may define user queries in the applicationworkflow. Database 330 may receive the application workflow and aconceptual data model from backbone workflow engine 310. The conceptualdata model may be used to capture the relationship between differententities and their attributes. Database 330 may produce a query-drivenconceptual data design and use outlined mapping rules and mappingpatterns to enable the transition from a conceptual model to a logicalmodel. We then describe a physical model to get a completely uniquemental image of the design. The conceptual data model is mapped to alogical data model based on queries defined in the application workflow.This query-driven conceptual to logical mapping is defined by datamodeling principles, mapping rules, and mapping patterns received frombackbone workflow engine 310.

In some embodiments, system 300 may use a global configuration system(e.g., Consul) for connecting services in runtime mode. The globalconfiguration system may be used for feature flagging, coordination, anddynamic configuration. In some embodiments, the global configurationsystem may include multiple clients and servers to increase availabilityin the case of failure. The global configuration system may includeagents in a datacenter that participate in a gossip protocol in order toautomatically discover the configuration of clients with the addressesof servers. The gossip protocol allows detection of agent failures to bedistributed rather than placed on the servers, resulting in morescalable failure detection. The gossip protocol also provides failuredetection for the nodes. The gossip protocol is also used as a messaginglayer to notify system 300 of important events (e.g., electing a singleserver to process all queries and transactions).

In some embodiments, system 300 may use a distributed tracing system(e.g., Zipkin) to gather timing data and troubleshoot latency issues.For example, system 300 may store trace data (e.g., timestamp andmetadata for each performed step) in database 330. System 300 mayvalidate, store and index trace data. System 300 may use a JSON API toretrieve the trace data. Sellers 334A-C may send a request for statusinformation on their requested listing to system 300 and system 300 maydetermine the most recently performed step based on the most recentlystored timestamp. System 300 may send messages indicating the mostrecently performed step to seller devices 332A-C. If a performed stepfails, system 300 may store a timestamp associated with the failure anda reason for failure in database 330. System 300 may send messagesindicating the reasons for the failed steps to seller devices 332A-C.

In some embodiments, system 300 may use a tiered QoS for prioritizingsellers. The tiered QoS may include specific quota or throttlingpolicies for sellers with different priorities. For example, system 300may control the sequence and speed of processing requests from sellersbased on seller identification and product information (e.g., sellersthat have a history of poorly formatted submission are given a lowprioritization, sellers with high quality products and/or highproduct/seller ratings are given a high prioritization, etc.). Lowquality sellers may also be banned from submitting new or updatedlistings. System 300 may use the submitted product information todetermine the prioritization of the seller. Additionally, system 300 mayfacilitate self-service by providing specific feedback on submittedrequests for new listings or updated listings so that sellers do notneed to contact a support team to resolve submission issues. In someembodiments, system 300 may assign a seller rating to each seller forprioritization purposes. For example, system 300 may determine a scorebased on the seller's past fulfillment of orders (e.g., a percentage offulfilled orders), the seller's past on-time delivery metrics (e.g., apercentage of orders delivered before or at an associated PDD), and theseller's replies to customer inquiries (e.g., a percentage of inquiriesresponded to within 24 hours). Additional or alternative metrics may beused to determine a seller rating, and one of ordinary skill willunderstand that other metrics are possible in some embodiments.

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary process 400 for updating product informationon a webpage, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

In step 401, system 300 may receive, from a first seller (e.g., sellers334A-C), a first request to list at least one first product for sale ona webpage. For example, the first seller may use a seller portal (e.g.,seller portal 109) and a system (e.g., system 300) to list new productsor update product information (e.g., product identifier, seller/vendoridentifier, pricing information, shipping information,quantity/inventory information, or product image) of existing listedproducts. The first seller may use an API, directly submit, or upload aspreadsheet to submit product information to the system.

In step 402, system 300 may receive, from the first seller, productinformation (e.g., product identifier, seller/vendor identifier, pricinginformation, shipping information, quantity/inventory information, orproduct image) associated with the at least one first product for sale.

In step 403, system 300 may receive, from the first seller, at least oneimage associated with the at least one first product for sale. Forexample, the first seller may submit a FTP image URL or a cloud URLassociated with the at least one first product for sale, which may bequickly downloaded by an image processor (e.g., image processor 314)included in system 300. The quick image download function of imageprocessor 314 may reduce latency of the first seller's productinformation submission to system 300. Steps 401-403 may, in someembodiments, be consolidated (e.g., where each of the first request,product information, and at least one image may be received in the samecommunication.

In step 404, system 300 may provide the received product informationassociated with the at least one first product for sale to a workflowsystem, wherein the workflow system is configured to begin a firstworkflow to enter the product information into a database (e.g.,database 330) and configured to process multiple workflows substantiallysimultaneously. Database 330 may include a storage engine (e.g.,Elasticsearch, Cassandra, etc.) for indexing execution flows. Forexample, data stored in database 330 may include product informationsubmitted by sellers, processes and paths taken by system 300, taskexecution data (e.g., timestamps for when a task was scheduled, whetheror not a task failed, reasons for task failure, number of retry attemptson a task, host on which a task was executed, inputs provided to a task,outputs from a task upon completion), steps performed by metadatachecker 313, steps performed by image processor 314, or steps performedby business validator 315. Database 330 may enable horizontal scaling ofdatastore for a large volume of concurrent workflow executions (e.g.,millions of workflows per day) and provide elastic scaling to meet highthroughput demands of multiple sellers. For example, database 330 mayindex products by their associated product information. When the firstseller submits a request to list products to system 300, read/searchservice 320 may search the indexed products in database 330 for relevantproduct information (e.g., has the seller already listed the productassociated with the product). In some embodiments, read/search service320 may search database 330 for a plurality of requests simultaneouslyor substantially simultaneously.

In step 405, the first workflow of system 300 may associate metadata(e.g., category of product) with the at least one first product for salebased on the associated product information. For example, the metadatamay indicate that the product for sale is an electronic product.

In step 406, the first workflow of system 300 may validate the receivedproduct information associated with the at least one first product forsale based on the associated metadata. For example, system 300 mayinclude a business validator (e.g., business validator 315), which mayvalidate that the received product information is in accordance with thebusiness model associated with the metadata. That is, if the metadataindicates that the product for sale is an electronic product, theassociated business model may indicate that electronic products aresubject to mandatory certification schemes that ensure that onlyelectronic products certified by the mandatory scheme can enter themarket. The business validator may validate the received productinformation by verifying that the associated product is properlycertified.

In step 407, the first workflow of system 300 may store the validatedproduct information associated with the at least one first product forsale in the database (e.g., database 330).

In step 408, system 300 may list the at least one first product for saleon the webpage (e.g., via seller portal 109). System 300 may list theproduct by, for example, placing a link on a webpage, modifying a linkor element of a webpage, or the like.

In step 409, system 300 may send a notification of the listingassociated with the at least one first product for sale to the firstseller.

While the present disclosure has been shown and described with referenceto particular embodiments thereof, it will be understood that thepresent disclosure can be practiced, without modification, in otherenvironments. The foregoing description has been presented for purposesof illustration. It is not exhaustive and is not limited to the preciseforms or embodiments disclosed. Modifications and adaptations will beapparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of thespecification and practice of the disclosed embodiments. Additionally,although aspects of the disclosed embodiments are described as beingstored in memory, one skilled in the art will appreciate that theseaspects can also be stored on other types of computer readable media,such as secondary storage devices, for example, hard disks or CD ROM, orother forms of RAM or ROM, USB media, DVD, Blu-ray, or other opticaldrive media.

Computer programs based on the written description and disclosed methodsare within the skill of an experienced developer. Various programs orprogram modules can be created using any of the techniques known to oneskilled in the art or can be designed in connection with existingsoftware. For example, program sections or program modules can bedesigned in or by means of .Net Framework, .Net Compact Framework (andrelated languages, such as Visual Basic, C, etc.), Java, C++,Objective-C, HTML, HTML/AJAX combinations, XML, or HTML with includedJava applets.

Moreover, while illustrative embodiments have been described herein, thescope of any and all embodiments having equivalent elements,modifications, omissions, combinations (e.g., of aspects across variousembodiments), adaptations and/or alterations as would be appreciated bythose skilled in the art based on the present disclosure. Thelimitations in the claims are to be interpreted broadly based on thelanguage employed in the claims and not limited to examples described inthe present specification or during the prosecution of the application.The examples are to be construed as non-exclusive. Furthermore, thesteps of the disclosed methods may be modified in any manner, includingby reordering steps and/or inserting or deleting steps. It is intended,therefore, that the specification and examples be considered asillustrative only, with a true scope and spirit being indicated by thefollowing claims and their full scope of equivalents.

1. A computer-implemented system for updating product information on awebpage, the system comprising: at least one processor; a memory storinginstructions; and at least one non-transitory storage medium comprisinginstructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, causethe at least one processor to perform first steps comprising: receiving,from at least one seller, a plurality of requests to list at least oneproduct for sale on the webpage, wherein each request of the pluralityof requests is associated with at least one product for sale; receiving,from the seller, product information associated with the at least oneproduct for sale; receiving, from the seller, at least one imageassociated with the at least one product for sale; providing thereceived product information associated with the at least one productfor sale to a workflow system, wherein the workflow system is configuredto perform an asynchronous orchestration of tasks associated with theplurality of requests, wherein the tasks include a plurality ofworkflows to enter the product information into a database and whereinthe workflow system is configured to process the plurality of workflowssubstantially simultaneously, wherein each workflow of the plurality ofworkflows is associated with one product of the at least one product forsale; wherein each of the plurality of workflows is configured toperform second steps comprising: associating metadata with the at leastone product for sale based on the product information associated withthe at least one product for sale; determining, based on a productidentifier and a seller identifier, a priority of the request; based onthe determined priority, determining a sequence of validating theproduct information associated with each request of the plurality ofrequests; validating the received product information associated withthe at least one product for sale based on the associated metadata;storing the validated product information associated with the at leastone product for sale in the database; listing the at least one productfor sale on the webpage; and sending a notification of the listingassociated with the at least one product for sale to the seller.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the product information comprises at leastone of a product identifier or a seller identifier associated with theseller.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein receiving the at least oneimage further comprises downloading at least one image associated withthe at least one product for sale.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein themetadata comprises a category to which the at least one product for salebelongs.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein validating the receivedproduct information comprises associating the metadata with a businessmodel.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the first steps furthercomprise: storing a timestamp for each performed second step of each ofthe plurality of workflows; receiving, from the seller, a request forstatus information on at least one of the plurality of requests;determining a performed second step of each of the plurality ofworkflows associated with a chronologically latest stored timestamp; andsending a message indicating the performed second steps associated withthe chronologically latest stored timestamps to the seller.
 7. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the product information is received from theseller via at least one of an application programming interface (API),the seller directly modifying the webpage to insert the productinformation, or the seller uploading a spreadsheet to the webpage. 8.(canceled)
 9. (canceled)
 10. (canceled)
 11. A computer-implementedmethod for updating product information on a webpage, the methodcomprising: receiving, from at least one seller, a plurality of requeststo list at least one product for sale on the webpage, wherein eachrequest of the plurality of requests is associated with at least oneproduct for sale; receiving, from the seller, product informationassociated with the at least one product for sale; receiving, from theseller, at least one image associated with the at least one product forsale; providing the received product information associated with the atleast one product for sale to a workflow system, wherein the workflowsystem is configured to perform an asynchronous orchestration of tasksassociated with the plurality of requests, wherein the tasks include aplurality of workflows to enter the product information into a databaseand wherein the workflow system is configured to process the pluralityof workflows substantially simultaneously, wherein each workflow of theplurality of workflows is associated with one product of the at leastone product for sale; wherein each of the plurality of workflows isconfigured to perform steps comprising: associating metadata with the atleast one product for sale based on the product information associatedwith the at least one product for sale; determining, based on a productidentifier and a seller identifier, a priority of the request; based onthe determined priority, determining a sequence of validating theproduct information associated with each request of the plurality ofrequests; validating the received product information associated withthe at least one product for sale based on the associated metadata;storing the validated product information associated with the at leastone product for sale in the database; listing the at least one productfor sale on the webpage; and sending a notification of the listingassociated with the at least one product for sale to the seller.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the product information comprises at leastone of a product identifier or a seller identifier associated with theseller.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein receiving the at least oneimage further comprises downloading at least one image associated withthe at least one product for sale.
 14. The method of claim 11, whereinthe metadata comprises a category to which the at least one product forsale belongs.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein validating thereceived product information comprises associating the metadata with abusiness model.
 16. The method of claim 11, wherein the method furthercomprises: storing a timestamp for each performed step of each of theplurality of workflows; receiving, from the seller, a request for statusinformation on at least one of the plurality of requests; determining aperformed step of each of the plurality of workflows associated with achronologically latest stored timestamp; and sending a messageindicating the performed steps associated with the chronologicallylatest stored timestamps to first seller.
 17. The method of claim 11,wherein the product information is received from the seller via at leastone of an application programming interface (API), the seller directlymodifying the webpage to insert the product information, or the selleruploading a spreadsheet to the webpage.
 18. (canceled)
 19. (canceled)20. A computer-implemented system for updating product information on awebpage, the system comprising: at least one processor; a memory storinginstructions; and at least one non-transitory storage medium comprisinginstructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, causethe at least one processor to perform first steps comprising: receiving,from at least one seller, a plurality of requests to list at least oneproduct for sale on the webpage, wherein each request of the pluralityof requests is associated with at least one product for sale; receiving,from the seller, product information associated with the at least oneproduct for sale; receiving, from the seller, at least one imageassociated with the at least one product for sale; providing thereceived product information associated with the at least one firstproduct for sale to a workflow system, wherein the workflow system isconfigured to perform an asynchronous orchestration of tasks associatedwith the plurality of requests, wherein the tasks include a plurality ofworkflows to enter the product information into a database and whereinthe workflow system is configured to process the plurality of workflowssubstantially simultaneously, wherein each workflow of the plurality ofworkflows is associated with one product of the at least one product forsale; wherein each of the plurality of workflows is configured toperform second steps comprising: associating metadata with the at leastone product for sale based on the product information associated withthe at least one product for sale; determining, based on a productidentifier and a seller identifier, a priority of the request; based onthe determined priority, determining a sequence of validating theproduct information associated with each request of the plurality ofrequests; validating the received product information associated withthe at least one product for sale based on the associated metadata;storing the validated product information associated with the at leastone product for sale in the database; storing a timestamp for eachperformed second step of each of the plurality of workflows; if a secondstep is not performed, storing a reason for the second step's failure toperform and sending a message indicating the reason to the seller;listing the at least one product for sale on the webpage; and sending anotification of the listing associated with the at least one product forsale to the seller.